Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"

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Balatro
(Image credit: Playstack)

Balatro's various demos pre-launch were already hinting at a wildly moreish, inventive roguelike on the cards, but somehow, its creator LocalThunk only realized how damn fun it was just a week before launch.

In a retrospective timeline detailing how Balatro went from a prototype to 2024's breakout indie game, LocalThunk revealed that the last few months of development were pretty gruelling. Dealing with a publisher, media attention, streamer hype, and evermore demo players who all had something to say was entirely new ground - and I can imagine, a very stressful experience.

"I start properly playing the game myself about a week before launch - and it’s actually fun," the developer recalled. "I have a pretty emotional moment where I feel like I did the thing I set out to do. Finally. I made the fun game I wanted to make."

Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

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